France produced a sensational late comeback at the Stade de France on Monday night, overturning a one-goal deficit to defeat Belgium 4-1 in the UEFA Nations League, with Michael Olise emerging as the outstanding figure after scoring twice and creating another goal.
For much of the night, Belgium appeared capable of frustrating the hosts and securing a major result in Group A1. But France exploded into life during the final stages, scoring four goals in just 14 second-half minutes to turn a difficult evening into a commanding victory.
The result also gave France coach Zinedine Zidane his first home victory in charge of the national team.
France started with plenty of possession and attacking intent, but Belgium defended deep and remained dangerous whenever they broke forward. Guillaume Restes, making his international debut, was tested early when Romelu Lukaku fired a shot towards the bottom corner, forcing the French goalkeeper into a save.
The hosts continued to press, with Bradley Barcola and Estéban Lepaul both going close, while several French attempts were blocked by a disciplined Belgian defence.
Belgium, however, delivered the first major blow in the 34th minute.
Dodi Lukebakio broke behind the French defence during a quick counterattack after Roméo Lavia played a through ball into his path. With the French defensive line stepping forward, Lukebakio raced clear before calmly finishing past Restes with a left-footed strike into the top-left corner.
France went into half-time trailing 1-0 despite controlling much of the possession.
The second half initially followed a similar pattern, but Zidane’s substitutions changed the entire complexion of the match.
Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki were introduced in the 59th minute, while Désiré Doué followed shortly afterwards. The changes immediately gave France greater creativity and directness in the final third.
Olise almost made an instant impact, forcing Maarten Vandevoordt into a save with a long-range effort before another attempt was blocked. Cherki also tested the Belgian goalkeeper as France increased the pressure.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 76th minute.
Lucas da Cunha found Désiré Doué just outside the Belgian penalty area. The Paris Saint-Germain forward controlled the ball, turned away from his marker and sent a low left-footed shot across goal and into the bottom-right corner to make it 1-1.
Four minutes later, France completed the turnaround.
Olise carried the ball forward before delivering a dangerous ball into the penalty area. Rayan Cherki reacted quickly, getting his shot away from inside the box and sending it through the Belgian defence and into the net. France had gone from chasing the game to leading 2-1 in the space of four minutes.
And Olise was not finished.
In the 88th minute, Désiré Doué supplied Olise inside the area. Despite being under pressure and slightly off balance, the Bayern Munich winger kept his composure and guided a right-footed finish into the bottom-left corner to make it 3-1.
The French supporters were already celebrating, but Olise had one more moment of brilliance to deliver.
Deep into stoppage time, France worked the ball across the attacking third before Doué released Olise inside the penalty area. The winger finished with his left foot from close range, completing his brace and sealing a remarkable 4-1 victory.
The final statistics underlined France’s dominance. The hosts finished with 66.5 percent possession, 23 shots compared with Belgium’s five, and eight shots on target to Belgium’s two. France also registered nine corners to Belgium’s two.
The match also produced three yellow cards. Belgium’s Roméo Lavia was booked in the 56th minute, France’s Maxence Lacroix received a yellow card in the 68th minute, while Joaquin Seys was cautioned for a bad foul in the 74th minute. There were no red cards and no reported incident involving a reckless tackle that caused a player to be knocked out.
There was also no significant woodwork incident recorded in the match, although several efforts went close and Vandevoordt was repeatedly called into action.
Ultimately, Belgium’s disciplined performance collapsed during an extraordinary 14-minute spell. France’s substitutes transformed the contest, with Doué scoring, Cherki scoring and Olise contributing an assist before adding two goals of his own.
Olise’s performance was the headline, but the comeback was a collective response from a France side that refused to accept defeat. After trailing for more than 40 minutes, Les Bleus finished the night with four unanswered goals and strengthened their position at the top of Group A1 with 10 points. Belgium remained on six points.
